3 ms·

> He has a high end VR device, not an Oculus Well, duh, would you use one of the cheapest laptops available for work ? (Unless for dogfooding purposes.)

the_af 2y ago
Well, some people do claim one use of the Oculus is this. I remain skeptical that most consumer-grade VR headsets are useful for real work. (As an aside, in my work experience of more than 2 decades, almost every workplace provided me entry level laptops/computers. Only relatively recently have they started handing out MacBooks or similar equipment. You can do work with entry level laptops in a way you absolutely cannot with entry level VR headsets).
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  What do you mean by "entry level" ? Did you have to work on an Eee PC during its time ? (I "did", but it was leased for free by the university, not an employer.) About a year ago I checked out laptops available at the supermarket, and most of them still didn't have an SSD !! Though I think I get what you mean, and also Oculus isn't "entry level" (maybe the first consumer one would qualify today, I have (had ?) one and I can't imagine reading lots of text with that low resolution !), that would be the headsets without 6 Degrees of Freedom (or badly working ones).
  - the_af 2y ago
    I'm not using any hard definition, but by "entry level" laptops I meant low RAM, average-to-low CPU power, low-resolution screen (do you remember 768p screens? I've used that for more years than is acceptable to human dignity [1]), and if an external monitor was given, it was 1080p at best. And this was for development. As for the Oculus, I own an Oculus 2 and recently tried an Oculus 3, and while I don't know if calling them "entry level" is fair, I definitely wouldn't want to do any serious work with them, or spend a long time wearing them. For (some) gaming? Sure. Though I get dizzy easily. I do enjoy Beat Saber though! -- [1] for some reason, hardware procurement at most jobs I've worked (until relatively recently) had it backwards. They thought higher screen resolutions were for "watching movies and playing videogames", while lower resolutions were for "serious work". In fact, it's the opposite: 720p is more than enough to watch movies on a tiny laptop screen, while productivity requires more screen real estate! And as for videogames -- average GPUs at the time I was having these work discussions struggled with anything more hi-res than 720p, so thinking that higher resolutions were "for gaming" was a total logical disconnect. Oh well, I cannot complain now; since the advent of the MacBook for Serious Work (tm) all of these problems seem to have gone away.
    - BlueTemplar 2y ago
      Heh, both of the laptops I still use are like this : one is a midrange one from ~2012 and has 768 lines, the other a high end one from ~2016 and in theory 1440 lines, but I run it at 720. In both cases it's because the screens are too small for the typical assumptions with regards to pixel density programs use to have more lines, their graphic cards are frankly not good enough to be able to run more than that, and it saves on battery life. But then laptops aren't for serious work, that's what desktops are for ! (And nothing wrong with 1080 lines (though I prefer 1200) for a typical size desktop monitor, especially if using more than one screen.)
      - the_af 2y ago
        > But then laptops aren't for serious work, that's what desktops are for ! Where is that? I haven't seen a desktop at any workplace for more than 10 years, possibly more. Closer to 20 likely. And I mean anywhere -- neither small startups nor bigger businesses. Nobody used desktops for work, serious or otherwise. I'd say the only people I know who still use desktops are hardcore gamers (and not even most of them, either!). In any case, we're getting sidetracked. My main point was that even these entry-level laptops are better than an Oculus headset for working. My experience, YMMV, and all the standard disclaimers.

the_af 2y ago

Well, some people do claim one use of the Oculus is this. I remain skeptical that most consumer-grade VR headsets are useful for real work. (As an aside, in my work experience of more than 2 decades, almost every workplace provided me entry level laptops/computers. Only relatively recently have they started handing out MacBooks or similar equipment. You can do work with entry level laptops in a way you absolutely cannot with entry level VR headsets).

BlueTemplar 2y ago
What do you mean by "entry level" ? Did you have to work on an Eee PC during its time ? (I "did", but it was leased for free by the university, not an employer.) About a year ago I checked out laptops available at the supermarket, and most of them still didn't have an SSD !! Though I think I get what you mean, and also Oculus isn't "entry level" (maybe the first consumer one would qualify today, I have (had ?) one and I can't imagine reading lots of text with that low resolution !), that would be the headsets without 6 Degrees of Freedom (or badly working ones).
- the_af 2y ago
  I'm not using any hard definition, but by "entry level" laptops I meant low RAM, average-to-low CPU power, low-resolution screen (do you remember 768p screens? I've used that for more years than is acceptable to human dignity [1]), and if an external monitor was given, it was 1080p at best. And this was for development. As for the Oculus, I own an Oculus 2 and recently tried an Oculus 3, and while I don't know if calling them "entry level" is fair, I definitely wouldn't want to do any serious work with them, or spend a long time wearing them. For (some) gaming? Sure. Though I get dizzy easily. I do enjoy Beat Saber though! -- [1] for some reason, hardware procurement at most jobs I've worked (until relatively recently) had it backwards. They thought higher screen resolutions were for "watching movies and playing videogames", while lower resolutions were for "serious work". In fact, it's the opposite: 720p is more than enough to watch movies on a tiny laptop screen, while productivity requires more screen real estate! And as for videogames -- average GPUs at the time I was having these work discussions struggled with anything more hi-res than 720p, so thinking that higher resolutions were "for gaming" was a total logical disconnect. Oh well, I cannot complain now; since the advent of the MacBook for Serious Work (tm) all of these problems seem to have gone away.
  - BlueTemplar 2y ago
    Heh, both of the laptops I still use are like this : one is a midrange one from ~2012 and has 768 lines, the other a high end one from ~2016 and in theory 1440 lines, but I run it at 720. In both cases it's because the screens are too small for the typical assumptions with regards to pixel density programs use to have more lines, their graphic cards are frankly not good enough to be able to run more than that, and it saves on battery life. But then laptops aren't for serious work, that's what desktops are for ! (And nothing wrong with 1080 lines (though I prefer 1200) for a typical size desktop monitor, especially if using more than one screen.)
    - the_af 2y ago
      > But then laptops aren't for serious work, that's what desktops are for ! Where is that? I haven't seen a desktop at any workplace for more than 10 years, possibly more. Closer to 20 likely. And I mean anywhere -- neither small startups nor bigger businesses. Nobody used desktops for work, serious or otherwise. I'd say the only people I know who still use desktops are hardcore gamers (and not even most of them, either!). In any case, we're getting sidetracked. My main point was that even these entry-level laptops are better than an Oculus headset for working. My experience, YMMV, and all the standard disclaimers.